Nobody is Going to Miss that Title

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Transcript of Nobody is Going to Miss that Title

Nobody is Going to Miss that Title "A good library is like a good haircut. It's not what you cut, it's what you leave."

(Anne Felix, CREW manual) "It is better to have worthless books in the trash than have trash on your shelves."

(Melissa Allen, Weed 'em and Reap) Our business is providing access to content, it is not collecting things.

(cribbed from Holly Hibner) Less is more. Quantity does not equal quality. Empty shelves are better than bad information. "Lack of funds to replace outdated or worn items is never an excuse for not weeding."

ComprehensibleApproved by your boardRegularly reviewed and updatedPublicly available (on your website or distributable in print) General Guidelines Don't rebind fiction--paperbacks are affordable and book covers move fiction

Replace books in poor condition only if literary merit or circ. stats warrant; withdraw the rest

Do not replace older worn out titles by popular genre authors Easy Targets Older single title authors (except Harper Lee)

Duplicate copies of former bestsellers and book club titles Specialized Cases Adult FictionWithdraw titles that haven't circulated in 2 yearsWithdraw series with missing volumes if the books do not stand aloneReplace worn copies of works of high literary merit with new editions (check the Fiction Core Collection)

Graphic NovelsWithdraw titles that have not circulated in 1 yearReplace worn copies of classics, such as Maus: a Survivor's Tale, with new editions

Easy Readers and Picture BooksWithdraw titles that have not circulated in 2 yearsWithdraw titles with racial or gender bias

Children's Fiction (Chapter Books)Withdraw award-winning titles that have not circulated in 3 yearsWithdraw others that have not circulated in 2 yearsWithdraw titles with biased or stereotypical views of gender, race, people with disabilities, or the elderlyWithdraw abridged and simplified classics

Conventional optical media should be replaced or withdrawn if chipped, cracked, warped, or deeply scratched

Music CDs: weed if it hasn't circulated in the last year

Audiobooks on CD: weed any fiction title that has not circulated in two years; weed non-fiction according to the guidelines used for print

DVD & Blu-ray titles: Weed if it has not circulated in the past year; replace damaged classics if circ. stats warrant

Puppets: Wait... puppets? Oh no! We're going to need tiny coffins! Whatcha got? Library Coffins (or what to do with the weeded) Iowa's DPI jokingly advocates that you:Bag and tag for destructionPut a few in each waste basket every dayTake them to the dumpTake them to another community's dumpTear or break them up and put them in a waste basketBox them up and send them to the superintendentStore them until they are forgotten More practically, you could donate discards to organizations that can make a difference:Your Friends of the Library book saleBookProspector.com (online sales site for FoL groups)The Prison Book Club (www.prisonbookprograms.org)Local shelters, hospitals, or thrift storesBetter World Books (www.betterworldbooks.com)Gotbooks.comBookScouter.com (sell books by ISBN direct to used bookstores)

Or...Start a giveaway tableMake book artRecycle! Hidden Benefits of Weeding

Helps identify missing and stolen booksGives constant feedback on collection strengths and weaknessesEnhances your library's reputationProviding access to reliable current information garners public trustAuthority is lent to books by their inclusion in librariesYour authority is compromised when books aren't credible or they contain stereotypes or misinformation Barriers to Weeding PsychologicalInstitutionalProceduralJudgmental Solutions BrainwashingAdopting sound policiesStep-by-step routineGuidelines from CREW